


Mass Effect Reloaded: Echoes of a Fallen Empire

by EmmaPhoenix



Series: Mass Effect: Reloaded Trilogy [1]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, EmmaPhoenix, F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-09-20 14:16:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17024193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmmaPhoenix/pseuds/EmmaPhoenix
Summary: Every fifty thousand years, the Reapers descend from Dark Space to blaze a path of destruction across the galaxy. Their motives are unknown, their ships and battle forms silent amidst the night of space. When they arrive, they inevitably harvest the best and brightest species to become them, ascending their minds into a Reaper body.Two cycles ago, it was the mighty Titans who fell, dominions that spanned the galaxy vanishing in the blink of an eye. Last cycle, it was the Protheans, masters of biotics, who were destroyed by the Reapers. Every cycle, though, has had its Crucible. Every Cycle, the purpose of the Crucible has been debated by the finest minds of the galaxy. The Titans believed it to be a weapon- one that would spread through the Relay network and destroy the Reapers. The Protheans believed it to be a AI, the very heart and mind of Reaperkind.At the Prothean Ruins on Mars, Humanity found the Crucible plans. Though Prothean on the outside, analysis of the blueprints reveals unfamiliar design styles and technological elements inconsistent with Prothean artisans. For that reason, construction on a miniature Crucible started, as humanity hoped to unlock the secrets of this mysterious cache.





	1. Prologue: Javith

 

# Mass Effect: Reloaded

_Mass Effect: Reloaded is an alternate timeline and almost completely reimagined version of the classic Mass Effect original trilogy._

 

##  _Echoes of a Fallen Empire_

\-----Prologue----  
Eden Prime, 50,000 years ago.

  
Javith stood alone amidst the swirling sand and dust. Javik, his brother and dearest friend, had left for the Stasis Chambers two rotations ago, and he had opted to stay on the surface, beginning the bunker shutdown protocols.  
  
_"Remember me, my brother." he whispered, drawing Javik in for an embrace. "I will remember you, Javith, and all those honored dead who gave their lives to stall the Reapers. It is not too late for you to join me. The time of the Protheans is over for now. When I emerge, a million warriors behind me shall lead and guide the younger races. We shall see our Empire avenged." "No." Javith said, drawing away, light reflecting off his four eyes. "I cannot join you. My Legion is dead, what honor shall I have if I flee to the safety of a shell?" "I ask this not as a soldier, but as a brother, Javith!" Javik cried out, sorrow filling the Avatar of Vengeance. "Join my warriors, take our vengeance upon the Reapers together when we awaken. You are the Avatar of Courage, a man who would be invaluable to our cause." "I cannot." Javith replied solemnly. "What courage would I have if I refuse to face the Reapers, if I run and hide?"_  
  
_"Fool!" Javik hissed. "Have you gone so daft as to not understand the difference between courage and stupidity? Your death here would mean nothing!" "No." Javith replied, head shaking. "It would mean that I joined my sons and daughters, my wife, my Legion, in the next life. I am sorry, Javik. After I seal the bunker tonight, I will take the last frigate on the surface and lead the Reapers away from here. To protect you. That is a death I hope you can live with someday."_  
  
_Javith turned, ignoring the pleas of his brother and motioning to two other Prothean soldiers. "See that the Avatar of Victory is safe in his stasis pod. Victory, begin Fortress Protocol. As long as Javik is alive, Prothea stands." They echoed his words. "Prothea stands in our hearts and souls. Let none take that flame from us."  
_

Now, standing alone at the surface, Javith looked up at the docked frigate. Prothean engineering was sleek and elegant, a testament to the dominance of the Prothean race before its crushing defeat at the hands of the Reapers. Javith was so entranced in his observation of the ship that he almost missed the enormous Reaper bearing down on him and his vessel.  
  
"Reaper!" he cried into the sky as its cuttlefish-like ship form came down and crushed his vessel, tiny in comparison to the dreadnought sized behemoth. "Show yourself! You face the last of the Protheans! I am Javith, son of Lakar, Avatar of Courage, infernal machine! Face me like a true warrior!" In response, the klaxon of an Indoctrination beacon filled the air before cutting off. "A mighty list of titles, Prothean." uttered a voice. "Let me return in kind so you know who you face. I am Harbinger, First One among the kind you call Reapers. I am the end of your Empire."  
  
Javith unslung his particle rifle from his back and growled. "Show yourself! Stop hiding behind this shell of metal like a coward!"  
  
Harbinger... chuckled, seemingly amused. The sound was extremely disconcerting, and Javith wondered several times if the Reaper was toying with him. "As you wish." the massive creature replied before sinking down further. Something on its massive spine opened, and what came out was... another, smaller metal cuttlefish ship. There didn't appear to be a main gun on this miniature version, but it still dwarfed him nonetheless.  
  
"Feel honored, Javith son of Lakar." the machine, no, the Harbinger, boomed. "You look upon the face of the Leviathans for the first time." He paused, observing the thing as it floated in the air. "Before I die and my race goes with me, I have one question." Javith asked. "What are you?" Harbinger paused before deciding to dodge the question. "Who said you were going to die?" the mechanical voice intoned. "You will come to serve us. Sadly, I cannot indoctrinate you without corrupting your physical form, and that is your eventual fate."  
  
"Physical... form? You mean..." "Yes, Javith. Your genetic code will be used to improve our perfection." At that, Javith raised his particle rifle and let a few bursts ineffectually bounce off Harbinger before turning the barrel on himself.  
  
As his consciousness faded to black, he made a small mental note that he hadn't pulled the trigger yet. How strange.  
  
  



	2. Shepherds of Shepards

"Mmmmmm..." A low moan filled the room as two figures writhed under the sheets, followed by a gasp for breath and cry of ecstasy. _Ah, this is the good life. Couldn't get court-martialed for frat charges if you're not in the chain of command anymore, right? Alliance is never taking old Kate Shepard back, not after Akuze, so might as well have a roll in the hay with a cute-_ Mid-thought, a knock rang through the air and disrupted her reverie. "Kate! Hey! What the hell are you doing in there?"  
  
Recognizing her brother's voice, Kate swept up a towel and leapt off the bed, muttering a quick "Sorry" to the body next to her before covering herself and opening the door. "What does it look like I'm doing, _Marcus Alistair Shepard?_ " she asked in the tone employed by their mother for scolding years ago. "Because _I_ think I'm having a quick fuck with a cute Alliance girl on shore leave, and not hanging a giant 'interrupt me' sign on the door." She softened her tone, though. "No. I'm sorry. You wouldn't interrupt me unless you thought it was important. Wasn't that big anyways, just a quick fling."  
  
"Who's the lucky girl this time?" Mark asked, eyebrow raised. "Marine? Navy? Egghead?" Groaning, Kate rolled her eyes. "Samantha Traynor. Comms on the SSV Endurance. That's not important, though. What you got for me, big bro?" "Get changed unless you want the old man to see your tits," he replied. "Anderson wants to see you." "Oh, that's _rich._ Captain of the stealth ship Normandy, rising through the ranks faster than a Hanar filled with helium, and he wants to see a disgraced N7 strung up by the brass as the scapegoat for Akuze." "Kate-" "I know I'm being unfair, Mark! He was the only one in the Alliance besides you and mom who gave a shit! He's practically our dad! But he _wasn't enough._ Some bastard brasshole pinned the thresher maw on my dumb ass to save face and placed me on permanent reserve status. My career is over." Turning to face the apartment's living room, she nodded. "Show him in. I'll go put on some pants and tell Sam to keep quiet."

\--15 minutes later, Kate Shepard's apartment, The Citadel.--

  
"Shepard. It's good to see you." the dark skinned man said before drawing Kate in for a light hug. "How are you holding up?" he asked, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "All right, Dave. Still fucking and drinking my way across the Presidium, one cute girl at a time." "Jesus, Kate, he doesn't need to hear that." "Hey, Mark, I'd rather be up front about it and not have him question-" A shrill screech came from Shepard's bedroom, and everyone turned their heads. "-that. Yep, that. I should probably go see what she's up to."  
  
Anderson glanced across to Mark and raised an eyebrow. "How long has she been like this, Mark? Be straight with me on this." "Ever since they took her off active duty. She slapped the last few shrinks they tried to send her way, something about them never being able to understand. So, my sister being my sister, she drank herself into a hole and started a hedonistic trail of debauchery. Only partially kidding on that." "Yeesh." Anderson said, raising an eyebrow. "I... think I understand how she feels." "Yeah?" "Don't breathe a word of this to anyone but... twenty years ago we humans were doing the exact same thing we're doing now. Agitating for a Spectre and getting uppity about integrating into the Council. I was on my trial run. An assessment for candidacy. Arterius was shadowing me." " _Saren_ Arterius. The Saren?" "One and only. Let's leave it at... Saren sacrificed an entire camp of civilians to flush out our target and pinned it on me, even though _I_ was the one who took down the mark in the end. I know what it's like to take the fall for dreck that's not your fault."  
  
Just then, the door creaked open and Traynor stumbled through in her underwear, holding her clothes in hand. "Shepard... your shower settings are _abysmal._ " she growled, still dripping from her hair. Looking up, she saw Anderson and let out another mild yelp, almost dropping her clothes. "C-captain Anderson! I swear this isn't what it looks like- _please don't slap a frat charge on me, sir..._ " Anderson just laughed and slid a wry smirk at Kate. "Fraternization rules don't apply with this case, Traynor. You're safe. Just get going." She nodded and ran back to the bathroom, presumably to put her clothes on again. "Though, if you were a day late I couldn't cover the both of you." he remarked, smirking at the embarrassed N7. "Uhh... sir?" Kate straightened, returning to the model of a professional soldier that she had exemplified. "Is this going where I think you're going? With the tomorrow bit?"  
  
"Yes, Kate. Captain Tarkus retracted his claims about Akuze after we got our hands on the Mako's black box and took your name before the JAG. It took a lot of head-bashing and screaming, but Mark and I did it together. We finally cleared your name. I'm sorry that it took this long." Standing up, Anderson set his face straight and nodded. "Lieutenant Commander Kate Shepard, on the authority of the Systems Alliance, you are hereby restored to active service. The Alliance also formally apologizes for any and all false accusations and punitive action brought against you and will pay out one thousand credits a month as compensation, in addition to any and all outstanding back pay. You are free to leave the Alliance with an honorable discharge if you wish, as the compensation is not dependent on state of enlistment."  
  
At this, Kate broke down in tears, hugging her brother and the man who had been like a second father to her, and now the people who had given her a second chance in life. "Thank you." she murmured, tears running down her cheeks. "I'm sorry you had to go through this, kid." Anderson replied. "I'm sorry you had to wait so long." "Not your fault." she replied. "You came back for me." "Never leave a man behind. Especially not my sister." Mark said, rubbing his knuckles on her head good-heartedly. "Nobody messes with her and gets away with it. We love you, sis. Welcome back."


	3. Eden Prime I: A Call To Arms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: Sloooow and steady.

Kate whistled as she approached the docking bays of the Citadel, running her eyes across the myriad collection of ships. Turian cruisers hung in space next to Volus freighters, personal yachts, and other vessels from across Citadel space. "Nice ships. Which one's yours, old man?" she asked teasingly. Anderson merely shook his head and chuckled in response. "You'll see, kid. You'll know when you see it." The walk continued at a leisurely pace, and the company of three struck up friendly banter about the 'good old days' as they went. The discussion jumped topics rapidly, as Anderson shut down lines of inquiry at seeming random. Finally, they approached an unmarked hangar with the simple sign of 'TURIAN HIERARCHY SPECIAL OPERATIONS' above the door. However, the guards at the door were a mix of Turian and Terran special forces, N7s or Marines like Kate standing alongside some Turians that she personally suspected to be either Blackwatch or a derivative unit.  
  
Kate whistled. "You join the Hierarchy, old man?" Anderson merely laughed and exchanged a smirk with Mark before shaking his head. Her brother would fill in the details, he knew, and sure enough Mark began his speech about the Normandy Project. "So... the Turian Hierarchy and Systems Alliance are building a cooperative stealth frigate system, leveraging..." Anderson tuned out the younger man, focusing only on observing the guards up ahead. Six Turians and five Humans, some standing guard and others in animated and friendly banter. Backs were slapped, laughter was had, and they seemed to be genuinely having a good time. One of the Turians standing watch spotted the three humans approaching and said something in the others' general direction, prompting them to fall back into their usual posts. Anderson merely smiled wanly, appreciative of the good relations between members of the two races and pretending that he didn't notice.

The guard that had spotted them grunted, holding out a hand. "Captain Anderson. Good to see you, sir. I'm sorry, but we need to check your companions. I'm sure you can understand." Exhaling, the older man gave his assent with a brief "Go ahead." Immediately, the Alliance and Hierarchy forces moved in unison, pulling out small scanners and bringing up records on their omni-tools. "Marcus Shepard... check. Position, Ops Officer. Kate Shepard...? I'm sorry, Captain, but isn't she on... well, you know, extended leave?" an Alliance Marine asked. "Son... what's your name?" Anderson replied. "Richard Jenkins, sir. Corporal with the One-Ninety-Sixth, Sabre Company." Nodding, Anderson laid a hand on Jenkins' shoulder. "Richard, I know you're a good kid. I can see that in your face. You just want to do your part and make the galaxy a little better. I also know that spreading bullshit about your new CO isn't like you. Tell me, who told you Kate Shepard was a horny, no-good failure that led her squad in to die? Who filled your head with that crap?"  
  
Jenkins withered under the glare of Anderson's brown eyes, mute and shaking his head. Finally, he spoke again in a whisper. "I... I don't know. Lots of people have had lots to say about both Shepards. Ask Mark. He's got Engineering under his thumb." Shaking his head, the captain sighed. "Check your omni again, Corporal. _Lieutenant Commander_ Kate Shepard, or Major, if you prefer her old infantry rank, should be listed as Normandy's new Marine detachment commander. I suggest you watch your attitude."  
  
Sure enough, when he checked again, Jenkins found the exact entry that Anderson was referencing. "I apologise for the inconvenience, sir. All of you are cleared to go through." The Marine fell in with the rest of the guards and opened the door, letting the hiss of pneumatics fill the air. As the group stepped into the elevator, escort at their side, Mark grinned, knowing that the view of the ship would stun his sister. "Five... four... three... two..." he began counting. Behind him, two armoured Turians simply exchanged a look and shrugged. "One... Sis, meet the Normandy."  
  
The ship was... simply amazing. The curves and fins were unmistakably human in origin, yet the engine housing and overall frame felt like a classic Turian design most of the way through. It had _grace,_ Kate thought. Style like that wasn't something you saw every day. "Wow..." she said, breathing out slowly. "If I didn't know better I'd swear you dug up a Prothean ship whole."  
  
Suddenly, their escort looked around and began to make a break for the ship, Anderson trailing them slightly. "The fuck is going on?" Kate said, jogging with her brother to keep up. "Why are we running all of a sudden? Citadel Marathon Week?" One of the Turians shook her head. "No. Our omnis were just pinged with the signal for 'All Hands Immediate Launch.' Yours isn't synced to our alert system yet, right? Here. Enter this code." Kate nodded, copying over the code quickly. "Thanks. I appreciate that." The Turian woman grunted in response. "No problem. Name's Nyreen Kandros, 26th Armiger Legion. I'm the CO for all Armigers on Normandy. Nice to meet you, Commander Shepard."  
  
Kate smiled, somehow quite fond of the other woman already. "Likewise. But wait. Anderson... he's with us. Who ordered all hands launch?" Nyreen shrugged under her armour. "I guess Commander Vakarian, our XO. This is really quite a ship, with the whole half-Turian half-Human thing. You'd either love it or want to get off at the next dock, even if it's Omega." Eyebrow quirked up, Kate filed that away for further reference, along with a reminder to be extremely careful what she ate.  
  
Reaching the airlock of the ship, Kate felt slightly confused as everyone raced in to their stations or down hallways, but Mark waved for her to follow. "Don't worry- just get up to the bridge. We'll have time to show you around and get you familiar with your new job once we cast off."


End file.
